Saturday, September 15, 2012

Ambushed Locksmith's Widow Files Wrongful Death Claim; Says Cops Should Have Done More To Protect Him From Armed F'closed Homeowner Resisting The Boot

In Modesto, California, The Modesto Bee reports:
  • Authorities should have done more to protect a locksmith from a distraught, armed homeowner who gunned down the man and a deputy sheriff, the locksmith's widow says in a wrongful death claim against Stanislaus County.

    Before they tried to carry out the April eviction, deputies were warned that the homeowner had weapons, the claim says, contradicting Sheriff Adam Christianson's statements since that the men walked into an ambush with no idea that danger lurked inside.

    Also, locksmith Glendon Engert paused while disabling the lock on a metal security door when he heard something inside, but deputies directed him to keep drilling, the claim says.

    "Mr. Engert was lulled into a false sense of security," the document reads. Moments later, Engert, 35, and deputy Bob Paris, 53, were killed by armor-piercing bullets from an assault rifle fired through the screen door. Deputy Mike Glinskas, 51, was not hit and was honored for bravery last month.

    The shooting deaths started an 11-hour standoff that ended as flames engulfed the Chrysler Drive fourplex. The body of Jim Richard Ferrario, who committed suicide, was found inside with an arsenal of weapons.

    The deputies "owed (Engert) a duty to protect him," says the claim, filed Aug. 24 by San Francisco lawyers on behalf of Irina Engert and made public by the county Monday. "It's unspeakably sad," said attorney Richard Schoenberger. "She remains devastated. Glendon was her life."